HARARE Revelations of corruption and incompetence in the handling of the Chiadzwa diamonds by the Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation shocked parliamentarians from all parties this week.
Members of the parliamentary mines and energy committee were horrified as ZMDC chief operating officer, Dominic Mubaiwa, squirmed under their tough questioning and was forced to reveal ministerial interference. “There is bush, jungle management at Chiadzwa. We are poor as a country because we have ZMDC which has no capacity to control its resources,” exploded Zanu (PF)s Simbaneuta Mudarikwa. “Are Chiadzwa diamonds meant to benefit a few people or the country?” Committee chairman, Edward Chindori-Chininga, (MDC) told the visibly perturbed Mubaiwa that he was under oath and that he should tell the truth.
“The country is starving, civil servants are on strike, we can’t afford to play around,” Chininga said. “Botswana has diamonds that have helped to run the country, South Africa has diamonds that have helped to run the country. The unlocking of value (of Chiadzwa diamonds) is it for Zimbabwe or it’s for personal benefit? You will be jailed, sometimes you have to be real to a point to say you have control of what is going on.” Mubaiwa was forced to give details of how four board members for Mbada Investments, a joint-venture formed last year by the ZMDC and Grandwell of South Africa to mine Chiadzwa had been imposed by Mines Minister Obert Mpofu. They are: – Robert Mhlanga (chairman) Sthengisiwe Mpofu, Dingiswayo Ndlovu (an employee of the Ministry of Mines) and Ms Chrystosoma Kanjoma.
“Yes we did receive that instruction (to appoint the board members), yes we did receive a letter from the minister,” Mubaiwa said. The ZMDC chief also told the committee that Grandwell had no experience in diamond mining as they were involved in scrap metal dealing in South Africa. He said “they had financial muscle to bring in expertise in diamonds”.
The ZMDC is also partnered by another little-known South African firm, Core Mining and Minerals in another joint-venture operation trading as Canadile Miners. Pearson Mungofa (MDC), said neither Mbada and Canadile had the capacity to operate at Chiadzwa. “The whole thing has to be reviewed and have the Botswana and Namibia models,” he said. “We want to bring in people with experience in diamonds.”
Mubaiwa divulged that between April 2007 and October 2008, when the ZMDC operated alone at the diamond field where it controls some 69 000 hectares of exploration rights, it extracted 1,366 million carats of diamonds, sold 876 000 carats, leaving a balance of 490 000 carats in stock. “The value of the sales made is US$8.3 million and royalties paid to government amounted to US$827 000. ZMDC stopped operating in Oct 2008,” said Mubaiwa. He stunned the committee when he conceded that government has not received any dividend from ZMDC’s other mining operations throughout the country ranging from gold, tin and copper over the past 20 years.
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